Mom comes to Spain!

My mom came to visit me this past week in Spain! It was so great to have her here and we accomplished a lot over the few days that she was here.

She arrived on Wed March 3 and we had plans to stay in Sevilla until Friday when we would head up to Dublin, Ireland to visit family. After spending some time in Dublin we headed back to Sevilla on Monday evening to spend the rest of her time here (until thurs am).

Mom got here Wed afternoon; of course the sunshine was yet to pop through the clouds! I went after class to meet her at the airport and then we came back into Sevilla to check into the hotel. I stayed with her in the hotel for the time period that she was here. It was so great to have a nice big shower for a week :) Unfortunately my mom’s luggage decided not to make the entire trip with her.…

The first day that mom was here was a little bit rainy...of course! So after we got all checked into the hotel we made our way to grab a quick little bite to eat. Sevilla has a lot to do outside and not as much to do inside. Therefore we decided to head to an indoor shopping centre to kill some time. She also needed some clothes since her luggage was yet to arrive. Later that day it cleared up a little bit and we walked around old Sevilla. This day was fairly uneventful due to the weather and jetlag!

The next morning we were ready to do a little more exploring. The weather decided to work out okay for us; it was sunny the entire morning and afternoon! Mom came to class with me and hung out in the little café and internet while I went to class for a little bit. After this we went to some touristy places in Sevilla- Plaza de Espana, the Cathedral and Reales Alcazares. Good thing the weather held out and we could fit all this into one sunny day! Later in the day we were off to my home stay to meet my Spanish family and see my apartment and neighbourhood. My mom was so surprised to see the size of the little elevator that Caroline and I use on a daily basis. We hung out with the Spanish fam for a little bit. Pacqui was chatting it up and showing my mom tons of pictures. My brain was getting a little tired trying to translate back and forth but I think I made it work! Mom had brought some things from home to give to the girls and Pacqui but unfortunately without her luggage we didn’t have anything for them at this point. After some time there and packing my bag for Ireland we made it back to the hotel. Mom’s luggage had yet to arrive! Since it had now been over 24hrs the airline was beginning to give her money to spend on clothes. We were off to shop for about an hour so that she had clean clothes for the weekend in Ireland. Loosing your luggage is not fun but it definitely has some benefits! The airline offers 100euro after the first 24hours that your luggage is lost and then 50euro per day after that. We definitely took advantage of that offer. After running through the stores and rounding up some clothes for the weekend we went to meet my roommate Caroline for dinner at one of our favorite little Italian places. After dinner mom and I had to get packed for Ireland!

The next morning we were off to Ireland! This was my first trip without any delays (so far)! We made it into Dublin around 2pm and my cousin Jake and his little baby Clara picked us up at the airport. From there we went back to their house. Jake and Luise live just in Dublin in a little row house. It is small but very cozy! We hung around here for a little and had a real good lunch! It was so fun to just hang out at “home” and play with baby Clara. The last time we had seen her was in Atlanta for thanksgiving. She has gown up so much over the past few months and has such a personality! We managed to get here out of the house for a little and all went for a little walk through the neighbourhood to grab something for dinner. When we returned home Luise was back from work and we were all about ready for dinner. We sat around the table for a few hours and caught up over dinner. It was great! Later that night my mom and I headed to the little bed and breakfast that we were staying in. It was just under a mile from Jake and Luise’s house. I made it to the bed and breakfast just in time to skype my cheerleaders at their banquet! I was passes along on the computer and had the chance to see a bunch of the girls. It was so great! Mom and I just layed in bed until the end of the night. It was so nice to watch English TV! American idol was on??

Saturday morning we met Jake and Luise and home and headed to the Dublin Zoo (in walking distance from their house). Clara was so excited she slept! We spent the morning walking around the zoo and people watching. I am not sure Clara has the whole zoo thing figured out just yet. But she is one lucky little girl going to the zoo all the time! After the zoo we headed to a favorite local pub called “Ryan’s.” Great food!—good ole cheeseburger and fries! After lunch it was time for Clara’s nap. Luise and Clara headed home and Jake, my mom and I headed to walk around in town. Dublin was hopping! There were SO many people out walking around in the streets. Apparently it had just been pay day the previous week and everyone was out blowing their pay checks shopping. Way to go! After a little while of wandering around we went to a local pub to grab a drink. The atmosphere was great; there was a group of people playing some traditional Irish music. My mom and I went out separate way for dinner and went to the grocery store to try anything that sounded good! After this we went back to the bed and breakfast and watched English tv! Ah what a luxury.

Sunday we had big plans! One Sunday every month there is a horse market in a square in Dublin. This is not highly advertised to tourists….more of a local thing. Irish travellers from all over Ireland come to Dublin this weekend to casually trade horses (and meet wives?!) It is quite a big deal! We were thinking okay maybe there will be a few horses and people casually walking around and what not. NO, it was HUGE. There were people and horses ALL over the place…and horse poop! It was quite interesting to see a little bit of this culture. The people were not what I was expecting. They were more “ghetto fabulous” than what I would expect an Irish traveller to look like. Ghetto fabulous girls, boys in track suits and crisp white tennis shoes and horses? Interesting mix… Later that afternoon we went for a little road trip outside of Dublin. Unfortunately the traffic was a little heavy and we never actually made it to our destination but we still got to see some great views from the car. When we made it home there was a special on Irish traveller weddings on TV. Of course we watched it to further our culture experience of the day.

Monday my mom and I were heading home in the afternoon. In the morning, Jake and Clara picked us up from the bed and breakfast and we made it out to the little spot that we never made it to on Sunday. It was a little Harbour town called Howth. So cute! It was right on the beach and we had great views of Dublin and the Irish coast line. We drove the car around a little and then hiked some as well. We were very lucky to have bright sunny weather all weekend in Dublin. After hiking around we walked around the harbour a little and saw the seals! So cute! We grabbed lunch from here and the headed to the airport. It was so great to spend the weekend with Jake, Luise and Clara. They were GREAT hosts and tour guides.

Our flight was a little delayed in Madrid when we were on our way back...there was snow in Barcelona?!? So random…The flight from Madrid to Sevilla was not so good, we had a ton of turbulence! When we made it back to Sevilla it was still raining, of course-it’s the new Ireland I swear. One good thing was that Moms luggage was finally there! (5 days later) We grabbed some late dinner and then crashed after a long weekend!

Tuesday was a great day. The weather was finally beautiful! I went to class and then met mom back at the hotel late morning. We had big plans since we finally had nice weather. We made it out to the river and walked around the river a little bit. From there we went to Plaza de Toros- the bull ring, and went inside and took a tour. It was really interesting to see the history behind bull fighting; I think it will be a little bit easier to watch a fight now that I know what goes on (bull fights start in April). We ate lunch along a busy street in Sevilla. It was so nice because everyone was walking around outside and we really got to people watch. After this we walked around through some shops and through the Flamenco boutique area. They really take flamenco seriously here! Tuesday night we had dinner at a yummy Italian place and then headed to La Carboneria for some casual flamenco. Mom was cracking up over the guy singing!

Wed was moms last day here. It was nice to take it easy that done because we had done most of what we wanted to go. Mom met me at school after class. This afternoon we went to the flamenco museum. It was neat but not as cool as we expected. Along with a ticket to the museum came a show later that night. So later that evening we returned in time for the show. It was much more authentic and formal than La Carboneria! Along the course of this day we managed to make it back to my home stay one more time to give the girls the little gifts that my mom had brought for them. They loved all the American candy, especially the Reeses and poprocks!

Thursday morning I saw my mom off at the airport bus! It couldn’t believe that time had flown that fast and she had already come and gone. It seemed like just yesterday she was booking a ticket to Sevilla and now she was gone! We had such a great time and I loved showing her around this city that I love so much. I can’t wait til she returns in May with dad :)